Jailed..the groom who torched own wedding

Boozed-up Max Kay, 37, set the drawing room curtains alight as his new wife slept in the bridal suite above.

The bankrupt property dealer was fuming over the £25,000 cost of his nuptials at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire.

More than £5million of damage was caused to the Grade I listed building. Kay, of Liverpool, downed 20 double vodkas, then flipped when staff refused to extend his credit at the bar.

A barman heard Kay snarl: “The bitch is going to get it,” following a furious row with the hotel’s financial director Kay Naylor over his bar tab.

He also threat-ened to smash owner Tony Naylor’s teeth. CCTV footage later caught Kay sneaking into the drawing room.

The skint dad-of-three had refused to scale back his wedding plans, forcing wife Stephanie to pay £15,000 to cover the event.

Jailing him for six years at Chester Crown Court, Judge Roger Dutton said: “You quite deliberately set fire to the hotel, putting the lives of guests at risk. It was a miracle that no-one was killed or seriously injured.”